After
by Only Sarah
Summary: He smiled as she spoke, realizing at that moment that he wouldn't never really get used to how beautiful she was, and he was okay with that. CZ


**A/N: This is a dialogue between Chase and Zoey, immediately following Chasing Zoey.**

* * *

 _If I lay here_  
 _If I just lay here_  
 _Would you lie with me and just forget the world_

"You know, Michael's going to kill me for not letting you go with him to the after party."

Chase laughed. "I can talk to him later. Besides, I haven't seen you in much longer."

"And since you followed me to England, and I moved back here to be with you, I think I'm entitled to some time with you." Zoey said, lightly pulling him over to the fountain.

The campus was quiet, as most of the upper school was currently at various after prom parties. Lola had gone with Vince, Michael, and Lisa. Quinn had snuck off to be with Logan, and Zoey and Chase had run off to be alone.

"I would agree with you there, Brooks." He smiled.

"So." She said, grinning. "Since I found out your 'deep dark secret', is there anything else I should know about you?"

"Hey, I never said anything about it being 'deep or dark'. I just didn't tell you because I didn't think you would ever see me the same way."

She held his hand. "But even if I didn't, would it really have been that bad?"

"Yes." He watched as she rolled her eyes and smiled. "Think about how awkward it would have been. You're still my best friend and I didn't want to mess that up."

"I guess that makes sense, Fuzzyhead."

"I'm still Fuzzyhead?"

"Always." She said.

He chuckled. "What about you? Any, to quote you, 'deep, dark secrets?'"

"Well, you already know everything about James. But nope, you know everything."

"Oh come on, I doubt I know _everything._ "

"Well then ask me anything." She said.

"Okay, who was your first kiss?"

"Jumping right in, are we?" She said, teasing him. "In seventh grade I kissed a guy named Jeff. People were making fun of me for never kissing anyone and I knew he had a crush on me, so I kissed him."

Chase started laughing.

"Oh come on, it's not that funny. It was actually disgusting. He drooled on me."

"It's pretty funny, but not as bad as my first kiss."

"Who was yours?"

He made a face. "So remember I told you about that girl who lives across the street from me in Boston, Alyssa?"

"The girl that pushed you in front of a car?"

"That's the one."

"You kissed _her?_ "

"She wasn't that bad at first. I actually really liked her. I mean, we were pretty good friends, and we used to go bike riding and stuff. But it was like a week before eighth grade started, and she was talking about how she had never kissed anyone, and how I hadn't either."

Zoey grinned and kissed him on the cheek, which he responded to by blushing.

"Anyways, she asked if she could kiss me, to 'get it over with', and of course I said yes. So she leaned in and kissed me for about half a second. I wouldn't really call it a kiss."

"That's not so bad."

"I'm not finished, here's where it gets bad." He said, running a hand through his hair. "I guess she hadn't really been feeling well that day, and she was apparently already nervous about kissing me, and she puked on me."

"That's hilarious." Zoey said through her laughter.

"It gets worse. After she threw up, she, like, grabbed me and kissed me again."

"That's disgusting!"

"Uh, yup."

"So, why did she push you in front of a car? You never told me that."

"Ha, oh yeah. So a few days after I had gotten home from PCA, after eighth grade, she called me and wanted to go for a walk. So we walked, and she told me that she had a crush on me and asked me out. And I said no, obviously."

"Because of me?"

"Because of you." He smiled. He noticed it was getting colder outside, and Zoey was only in a T-Shirt, so he took off his sweater and gave it to her. "I told her that there was an extremely beautiful girl at PCA I had met, and she didn't like hearing that. So she pushed me into incoming traffic. She still lives across the street but we haven't spoken since. She still glares at me, though, when she sees me. It's actually really creepy.

"So when you started dating Rebecca -."

"- She absolutely hated me." He said, finishing her sentence.

"Wow."

Chase wrapped his arm around her and she leaned in, putting her head on his shoulder as they fell into a comfortable silence. She was surprised at how normal things were between her and Chase, being that they hadn't actually been face to face in nearly six months. It was like a part of her had been missing for all that time, and she hadn't actually realized it. She felt whole again. Even though she had been dating James, she missed Chase with all of her heart. They had occasionally emailed each other, but Chase had told her earlier that evening that he didn't want to be a burden to her while she dated James. Chase had gone out with a girl while in England, but it hadn't been serious. She was most comfortable around Chase, and even though things had ended roughly between them the previous semester, before she moved away, it was easy to forget about. He had only been back at PCA for three hours and it already felt as if neither of them had ever left. She was sure of her feelings though, and now, the two of them were closer and more comfortable with each other than ever before.

She was the one who broke the silence. "Other than Rebecca, how many other girls have you dated?"

He smiled slightly. "Well, Rebecca was the first serious girlfriend I had. I went on a date with Lola last year, but only because I felt bad. And after I started dating Rebecca, I tried to convince myself that I wasn't in love with you, and I went out with a few other girls after Rebecca. And then Emily, at Covington. But nothing ever worked out. What about you?"

"I dated Danny for a little bit, and Lance Rivers. James was the longest I ever dated anyone. I was never interested in anyone from my hometown. To be honest, I wasn't really interested in any of the guys I dated. I thought they were cute at first but then we had nothing to talk about and it got awkward. James and I lasted a while, but he wanted it to be really serious, and told me he loved me, and I realized I was in love with you, which ended that."

"He seems like a good guy."

"I think you two would get along, honestly, once all of this tension fades."

"I trust you."

Smiling, he tilted her chin up with his hand and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back.

He blushed red when they broke apart. "I don't know if I'll ever get used to that."

"I hope not." She answered, pressing her forehead to his. "Best kissing I've ever had."

"Really?" He said, smiling ear to ear. "I feel the same way."

They stayed outside talking and kissing for hours, but it didn't feel that long. Zoey barely noticed the time passing at all.

"There they are. ZOEY! CHASE!" A familiar voice called.

Both turned to see Michael and Lola walking towards them.

"You guys missed the party!" Lola said, sitting on the fountain across from them.

"That's okay." Zoey said, leaning closer to Chase.

"No it's not!" Michael exclaimed. "I've barely gotten to talk to you, Chase."

"Sorry dude."

"You better be."

Chase sighed and stood up. "Go back to the dorm, I'll meet you there in five."

"Yeah, you too Lola."

"Nope, not happening. I'm not leaving until Chase comes with me."

"Dude." He protested.

"It's okay, Chase." Zoey stood up. "Let's get coffee in the morning."

"It's a date."

Zoey stood on her toes as Chase pulled her in to kiss her one last time.

They pulled apart to see Lola and Michael standing there with their jaws dropped.

"Goodnight." Zoey said, kissing him on the cheek. "Call me when you wake up."

Michael grabbed Chase's arm and pulled him back to the dorm.

Chase smiled as he took one more look at Zoey, who he could now officially call his girlfriend.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **This is set immediately after Chasing Zoey. I'm going to write a few chapters I think, following the days after prom and into the summer, if I feel up to it. It's sort of plot-less but it was sitting in the back of my mind all week and this was the final product.  
**

 **I just finished my finals, but I'm doing some spring classes, so I'm still crazy busy with school. I'm done at the end of June, and hopefully I'll be able to finish up 'Broken Hearts' and write some more for 'Closure'.**

 **Please leave reviews, even if you're just a guest, and not a fanfiction member. I like to hear suggestions because your ideas are what gives me motivation to write. I know this isn't my best work but I am open to your comments/tips/criticism. Even just send me a message if you want to talk.**

 **-Sarah**


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